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Friday, July 6, 2018

Questioning Answers: Today I bring to your attention the 'Cochrane does...' findings reported by Brian Reichow and colleagues [1] which concluded that: "There is weak evidence that EIBI [early intensive behavioral intervention] may be an effective behavioral treatment for some children with ASD [autism spectrum disorder]."

Brigham Young: There’s
a multi-billion-dollar industry devoted to products that fight signs of
aging, but moisturizers only go skin deep. Aging occurs deeper — at a
cellular level — and scientists have found that eating less can slow
this cellular process. Recent research published in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics
offers one glimpse into how cutting calories impacts aging inside a
cell. The researchers found that when ribosomes — the cell’s protein
makers — slow down, the aging process slows too. The decreased speed
lowers production but gives ribosomes extra time to repair themselves.

Brigham Young: “The unique thing about the T. brucei parasite is that it relies on host glucose for survival,” said Christensen, whose study was recently published in top-ranked journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. “We know that if you could deprive the parasites in the blood stream of glucose, the parasite will die.” Sixty
million people in sub-Saharan Africa live at risk of African sleeping
sickness, a disease caused by parasites transmitted through the tsetse
fly. In the late stage of the disease, when the parasite crosses the
blood-brain barrier, the results are oftentimes fatal.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

QuestioningAnswers: "We identified 77 urinary metabolites that were correlated with changes in symptoms, and they clustered into pathways of oxidative stress, amino acid/gut microbiome, neurotransmitters, hormones, and sphingomyelin metabolism."
So said the findings reported by Stephen Bent and colleagues [1] continuing a theme in autism research circles examining the use of a compound called sulforaphane - "a supplement with indirect antioxidant effects that are derived from broccoli sprouts and seeds" - in the context of [some] autism .
Once again, I'm sure that there may be people out there with brows
furrowing when it comes to talk of a 'broccoli chemical' potentially
impacting on the presentation of autism. But peer-reviewed science (placebo-controlled) is peer-reviewed science [2] and not just to be 'put to one side' because it doesn't follow the trends or [research] fashions of the day.

TheConversation: The real danger of separating children from parents is not the
psychological stress – it’s the biological time bomb. The screaming and
crying, the anguish and desolation is gut-wrenching. But the fallout
pales in comparison to the less visible long-term effects that are more
sinister and dangerous. Separating children from their parents, in a strange land, among
strangers, causes the most extreme life stress a child can experience.
And it causes profound and irreversible changes in how their DNA is
packaged and which genes are turned on and off in the cells of the body,
in organs like the pancreas, the lungs, heart and brain – leading to
lifelong changes in its structure and function.

TheConversation: People with autoimmune disorders, a collection of diseases where
the body’s immune system attacks its own cells, are more likely to have
psychosis, according to our latest research. Previous research found that rates of rheumatoid arthritis were lower
in people with psychosis than would be expected in the general
population. But later studies showed that other autoimmune disorders,
such as coeliac disease and autoimmune thyroid disorders,
were more common in people with psychosis. This led scientists to the
view that there is a connection between autoimmune disorders and
psychosis. But conflicting findings meant that it was difficult to reach
any conclusions about the relationship.

TheConversation: Half of Australian infants have received at least one course of antibiotics by their first birthday. This is one of the highest rates of antibiotic use in the world. Although antibiotics are effective and potentially life-saving for
bacterial infections in children, they are often prescribed for viral
infections, for which they are ineffective. Unnecessary antibiotics expose individual children to potential side
effects, including diarrhoea, vomiting, rashes and allergic reactions. The overuse of antibiotics also increases the risk of bacterial resistance
in the wider community. This is when commonly used antibiotics become
ineffective against some bacteria, making it difficult, or even
impossible, to treat some infections.

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

MedicalResearch: The poliovirus receptor (CD155) is an onco-fetal cell adhesion
molecule with widespread expression in all solid tumors and particularly
in primary CNS tumors (adult and pediatric). Recombinant nonpathogenic polio–rhinovirus chimera (PVSRIPO) was
generated by replacing a critical piece of the genetic information from
the Sabin type 1 polio vaccine, making PVSRIPO incapable of harming or
killing normal brain cells, but toxic/lethal in cancer cells. In
preclinical models, it has been demonstrated that the infection of tumor
cells, leads to the release of danger signals, which triggers a
recruitment of dendritic/CD4/CD8 T cells and a destruction of tumor
cells by anti-tumor T cells.

TheConversation: We’ve all been there, you’re desperate for the loo, and
frantically hunting for a toilet, only to find when you get there, that
the seat is covered with “droplets” from the previous user. So what
should you do – carry on regardless, or try and squat while you do your
business? The world is in many ways a microbial planet and, as its inhabitants,
we carry within us our own microscopic rain forests – which we exchange
with the environment and each other all the time. Microbes are abundant
throughout the human body, including the skin, mouth, eyes, urinary and
genital organs and gastrointestinal tracts. Most people carry up to a
kilogram of microorganisms. These are largely within the gut and comprise bacteria, fungi, yeast, viruses and sometimes parasites.

TheConversation: As a society, we’ve come a long way in our understanding of the
challenges people with autism face with social communication. But there
is a large gap in our understanding of another cluster of behaviours
that form part of an autism diagnosis: restrictive and repetitive
behaviours and interests (RRBs). These behaviours and interests appear to be made up of two
dimensions. The first is a pattern of overly regulated thinking:
obsessions and intense interests; a strong preference for maintaining
sameness; and ritualistic or habitual patterns of behaviour, such as
fiddling, or motor tics like blinking or throat clearing.

Nicotine and Tobacco Research: Should e-cigarettes should be classified as tobacco products? In 2014 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US concluded that they are (1), and we regularly receive submissions describing e-cigarettes as tobacco products. However, this judgement is the product of policy developments around the role of the FDA and their ability to provide regulative guidance and authority relating to a range of products. Products that contain nicotine derived from tobacco fall within a court-endorsed legal framework for FDA regulation. To date, Nicotine & Tobacco Research has not had an explicit policy on how e-cigarettes should be described.

APS: Warning labels that include photos linking sugary
drink consumption with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay may
reduce purchases of the drinks, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. In a field study
conducted in a hospital cafeteria, researchers found that graphic
warning labels reduced sugary beverage purchases by 14.8%, while text
warning labels and calorie labels had no effect.

Scimex: Hundreds of genes linked to intelligence have been found by Australian
and international researchers. The scientists looked at the DNA of more
than 250,000 people and found more than 900 new genes linked to
intelligence. They say their works suggests that increased intelligence
may protect against both Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD. A second study
also identified over 500 genes linked to neuroticism.

Scimex: Women with higher body mass index (BMI), especially in early adulthood,
may be at a lower risk of developing breast cancer prior to menopause,
according to Australian and international research. The research looked
at 19 different studies, including Australian data, covering more than
750,000 women. It found that for women aged 18 to 54, breast cancer risk
went down as BMI went up. This link was strongest for women aged 18 to
24. The study authors say that they are not advocating weight gain as a
way to reduce breast cancer risk but that understanding this link might
help to identify risk factors that might be modified.

Scimex: Kids of mums who have any of the three main types of diabetes during
pregnancy are at higher risk of developing autism, according to US
research. The study showed that type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as
gestational, or pregnancy related diabetes, diagnosed before 26 weeks
were all linked to an increased risk of having a child with autism
spectrum disorder. The authors say that, while the study cannot show
that diabetes causes autism, it does suggest the severity of the
mother's diabetes and the timing of exposure (early vs late in
pregnancy) may be linked with the risk of children developing autism.

JAMA: Removing tonsils and adenoids in children in Denmark was associated
with increased long-term risk of respiratory, infectious and allergic
diseases.
Why The Research Is Interesting: Tonsils and
adenoids are commonly removed in childhood to treat conditions such as
chronic ear infections and obstructed breathing. They are part of the
immune system and are usually removed at ages when the development of
the immune system is sensitive. Not much is known about the long-term
impact of those surgeries.

JAMA: Food and other types of allergies are more likely to be reported in
children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than in children without
ASD but the underlying reasons for this association aren’t clear.
Why The Research Is Interesting: A diagnosis of ASD
has become more common among U.S. children but it isn’t clear why or
what causes ASD. Some studies have suggested immune system dysfunction
may potentially play a role. Allergies are common medical conditions of
immune dysfunction in children.

JAMA: The effect of portable music players on the hearing of children is
unclear. A new study found that about 1 in 7 children (9 to 11 years of
age) showed signs of noise-induced hearing impairment, prior to exposure
to known noise hazards such as club and concert attendance. Portable
music players, used by 40 percent of 2,075 children in the study from
the Netherlands, were associated with high-frequency hearing loss.
Repeated measurements are needed to confirm this association.

JAMA: Stress-related disorders brought on by traumatic or stressful life
events were associated with increased risk of developing an autoimmune
disease.
Why The Research Is Interesting: Development of
stress-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
may influence multiple bodily systems, including immune function.
Whether this contributes to risk for autoimmune disease remains unclear.

Cochrane: People with chronic (persisting) migraine treated with botulinum toxin injections had two fewer migraine days per month than people treated with placebo (fake treatment). It is unclear if this
improvement was large enough to make a meaningful difference to their
lives. More work is needed to show whether botulinum toxin is better
than oral
treatments (treatments that are swallowed), that prevent migraine. The
evidence for botulinum toxin for people with episodic (occasional)
migraine was uncertain. Treatment with botulinum toxin did not cause
many side effects.